Al Bustan

by Anonymous H.

I wish they had six stars! This place is new, and has replaced Caesar's Cafe and is EXCELLENT Lebanese cuisine. Not only does this restaurant have the BEST food I have EVER had, but they have live music, a bellydancer, and upstanding service. They also have a patio where you can partake in hooka, although we were too busy dancing to get around to that!

by Slim S.

Went to this new restaurant last night before heading to the Cat Power concert at 4th and B.  I had seen a coupon in the http://Reader.com for a buy-one-get-one-free dinner.  The place is still getting oriented and all so we were the only two in the whole restaurant, which was on a Wednesday around 7 pm.  Regardless, we were totally impressed with the entire dining experience.   We started with a really light yet tasty Lebanese beer and I ordered a mint tea.  The waiter said that he could make a black tea with fresh mint since they didn't have actual "mint tea."  I was happy with the offer and the tea was super yummy!Next we ordered a couple dinners.  I had this beef strip dinner dish that was kind of like fajitas.  It was tasty and all and the meat was flavorful with the marinade they used.  My friend ordered chicken kabob, which were exceptionally juicy and cooked to perfection (God I hate that stupid overly used expression).  But really, the chicken was awesome and now it has taken over for the chicken they used to cook like that at my old favorite Mediterranean Cafe in Hillcrest.  Both the dinners were served with a starter salad, which was good-sized and had this really flavorful lemon-oil dressing.  The plates come with humus, pita bread and a yellow saffron basmati rice.  Totally filling and totally good.  The waiter we had was really attentive and professional.  So the place gets busier on weekends supposedly, when they have belly dance shows at nine and eleven Fridays and Saturdays.  Then they get this DJ I guess who spins Arabic music and they have this dance floor where the patrons can get their groove on.  There is a bar in the far corner of the restaurant, but it's a bit too tucked back to attract a lot of attention I'd say as a hangout.  The decor is nice and all, with my only criticism being the old-school fluorescent lighting that is reminiscent of corporate offices.  So it kind of kills any chance at sexy mood lighting, even though they do have some wall-mounted torch-style lamps all around the perimeter of the place.  And there is an outside patio along C Street.  I guess they do the nargila as well.  Current cost is $20 and I am not sure of the flavors of tobacco.  The co-owner is a guy named Salam, from Iraq.  He was really cool and seemed to be pretty excited about getting the whole weekend dance crowd thing going.  I hope that this place can last considering that the location is a bit off from the whole Gaslamp area.  At least parking should be a bit easier to find.  This would be a great choice to hit before the symphony or a concert at 4th and B, or even the Civic Center, since all are relatively close by.  So that's it.  We'll see how this place does through the growing pains.  Hope for the best and take advantage of the coupon in the http://Reader.com while you can.  It is a great deal.  We saved 16 bucks.  Which we gave to the waiter since he did such a fine job with the service.

by Posh P.

The food is good....not worth the priceThe Hookah is bad.....The entertainment is for 65 years old +Very boring.

by John P.

being located along C street is taking a chance on its revitalization.  i appreciate that Al Bustan has made that move and hope that it can sustain the low traffic that area gets.  the food is real delicious...i  had the shrimp kabob which had amazing flavoring.  the chicken was also plump and juicy.  entrees comes with a huge salad, and the staff poured me a glass of Lebanese white wine that was more than just a glass.  i came here at about 7pm, so can't comment on the belly dance music....and like the yelpers before me, we were the only 2 in the restaurant.